Optimism (OP) Tokenomics, Unlock Schedule and Vesting Chart

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Optimism (OP) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule

As of October 17, 2026, 2.3 billion OP have been released. No further releases are scheduled; the schedule was fully unlocked in May 2026.

The chart shows gross modeled releases of every allocation: vesting unlocks, new issuance and reserve distributions, each allocation counted once. These have different meanings; a scheduled release is not evidence that tokens entered circulation or were sold. Review the coverage, sources and assumptions below.

Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.

Tokenomics & Utility

Supply and distribution

OP began with an initial supply of 4,294,967,296 tokens. Its original allocation set aside 25% for ecosystem funding, 20% for retroactive public-goods funding, 19% for user airdrops, 19% for core contributors, and 17% for investors. These are allocation categories, rather than a schedule saying that every token entered circulation at once. The timing of distributions depends on the rules and decisions governing each category. (optimism.io)

OP’s central use is governance. Holders can vote in the Token House or delegate their voting power to someone else. Governance covers designated matters such as protocol upgrades and the use of Collective resources. The Citizens’ House brings a separate form of representation into the system. Decisions about treasury spending follow governance and budget processes; an OP balance does not give its holder direct control over individual payments. (optimism.io)

On OP Mainnet, users pay transaction gas in ETH. OP’s role is therefore distinct from the asset used to pay for everyday network activity. The token’s economic model has also evolved: governance approved a 12-month program using up to 50% of Superchain revenue for monthly OP purchases. Purchased tokens are held in the Collective treasury, with their later use subject to further decisions. Retroactive public-goods funding, an important part of Optimism’s history, was paused in 2026 while the Foundation reviewed its approach. (optimism.io)

Assumptions

OP's initial tokens were created at launch; later availability comes from airdrops, contributor and investor lockups, grants, and treasury spending. The chart dates published airdrop openings and grant vesting, while labeling estimated private-sale lock ends, fiscal-year fund totals and changes interpolated between Foundation snapshots. Much of the historical grant timing and future spending remains undated, including deployment of the Strategic Ecosystem Fund reassigned from unused airdrops. That reassignment did not create new OP.

Governance Fund: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
Ecosystem Fund: Partner, Seed and Unallocated: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
Partner Fund: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
Seed Fund: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
Unallocated Ecosystem Fund: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
Strategic Ecosystem Fund, reassigned from unused airdrops: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
Retroactive Public Goods Funding reserve: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
Retro Funding Round 2 grant budget: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Retro Funding Round 5 OP Stack rewards: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Retro Funding Round 6 governance rewards: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Early Core Contributors: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Investors: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Base initial Seed Fund grant: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Base contingent six-year grant: The original schedule was changed and the new timing is not yet published.

Sources (23)

Initial Supply 4.29B

Unlocked Supply 2.30B

Unlock Progress — No maximum supply

Genesis Date May 2022

Fully Unlocked May 2026

Allocations 19

Marketcap Rank (#) 139

Price ($) 0.139 -1.56% (7d)

24h Volume ($) 9.8M -43.08% (7d)

Marketcap ($) 320M

Fully Diluted Value ($) 597M

Circulating Supply 54% MEDIUM

Perpetuals: 4 markets on Binance, OKX, Hyperliquid and Lighter · $30.2M open interest

Spot

Perp


OP/USDT	10M	195K/256K
OP/USDT	4.8M	247K/260K
OP/USDT	2.9M	334K/351K
OP/USDT	2.1M	189K/208K
OP/USDT	1.6M	98K/88K
OP/USDT	1.4M	7.8K/360
OP/USD	1.1M	155K/238K
OP/USDC	956K	34K/63K
OP/USD	844K	143K/186K
OP/TRY	714K	45K/55K
OP/USDT	536K	167K/146K
OP/EUR	438K	59K/65K
OP/USDC	254K	63K/65K
OP/USDT	191K	42K/61K
OP/USDT	162K	33K/28K
OP/USDC	151K	2.8K/2.8K
OP/USDC	121K	4.4K/4.9K
OP/USDC	104K	12K/21K
OP/USDC	41K	46K/58K
OP/USDC	28K	7.4K/31K
OP/USDC	25K	872/2.6K
OP/VELO	20K	3.6K/3.6K
OP/	13K	2.4K/2.4K
OP/EUR	13K	39K/40K

Allocations

Initial OP creation TBD

4,294,967,296 tokens · 7 parts

Parts of this allocation with their own release dates are charted as their own allocations; the chart shows the rest here.

Not yet scheduled: 1,995,342,321 tokens of its parts have no release date yet. The chart shows them as TBD from today, not as unlocked.

Cliff: May 2022 — 100.00% of allocation · 4,294,967,296 tokens

Sources: OP Token OverviewIntroducing the Optimism CollectiveLet the Claims Begin

Last Updated: 2026-09-30 20:35:48 UTC

Description

#139

Optimism is a layer 2 scaling solution that uses Optimistic rollups to bundle transactions and post them on Ethereum mainnet. Optimism is cheaper and faster than Ethereum, and compatible with Ethereum apps.

Sector:	Layer 2
Blockchain:	Optimism

2022

Optimistic